Deliveries of medicine but no food to besieged areas of Syria

SBS World News Radio: Deliveries of medicine but no food to besieged areas of Syria.

Deliveries of medicine but no food to besieged areas of SyriaDeliveries of medicine but no food to besieged areas of Syria

Deliveries of medicine but no food to besieged areas of Syria

The United States, Britain and France have urged the United Nations to begin air drops of humanitarian aid to besieged areas in Syria.

The Syrian Government - under UN pressure - allowing the first convoys of international aid in four years, into a rebel-held area of Damascus.

But the delivery was small - and contained no food.

As aid trucks moved into Daraya, a town besieged by Assad forces since 2012, relief was short lived.

The government - facing a UN deadline either to let in convoys - or witness international aid drops into rebel-held areas - relented.

But when the doors opened - there was medicine but no food, frustrating residents.

"We want our kids to benefit from aid. It's not medicine they want, its food. The UN - if it cannot get food in, it's useless."

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond described the limited access for aid allowed on the day of the deadline agreed by the International Syria Support group ISSG as "cynical".

State Department spokesman John Kirby says ground delivery of aid has been insufficient to help those caught in the civil war.

"What we have said all along is we want them to support sustained, complete, comprehensive, unimpeded access of humanitarian assistance. They have not met that expectation, consistently have not met that expectation."

Daraya's electricity supply was cut off more than three years ago.

The UN says the Syrian government had ignored countless requests for aid to be allowed in.

An aid convoy was blocked from entering the town last month, despite all parties agreeing aid could be delivered

Separately, the rebel-held town of Muadhamiya, north-west of Daraya has received food parcels - its first delivery of aid in a month.

Muadhamiya Mayor Mahmoud al Jalab called for a longer term solution.

"The convoy includes relief items, flour and medicine for the medical centre. The convoy will be arriving over the next three days. The first convoy will include 4,500 food baskets, and today we've had 9,000 bags of flour. The quantity is acceptable, but we need the aid to be continuous and permanent."

The US and UK are calling on Russia and Iran, which back the Syrian government, to use their influence to make sure aid drops can proceed safely.

However, Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, has said he believes air drops are impractical and that the land convoys should be given a chance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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3 min read

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By Brianna Roberts


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